Rustic, Shabby-Chic DIY Lange Farm Wedding

Kelly and Lane met at church, and while the bride thought “he was just another guy,” the friendship quickly grew into a relationship.

“Through our in-depth and fun conversations, I knew I wanted to get to know him more and spend time with him. He made it official and asked me out one month later. By this time I already knew I wanted to marry this guy,” Kelly gushed.

When Lane went back to school at Florida State University that fall, the couple began their long distance relationship.

“We persevered through distance, college, job changes, family drama and any other thing you could think of that could happen over a four year period,” Kelly shared.

Going through these life obstacles brought the pair even closer and almost four years after they met, Lane proposed.

“Lane decided he wanted to drive an hour to the beach to take me out for dinner. Me, being practical, thought this was ridiculous to drive an hour both ways just to get to dinner. But, we went anyways. The whole way there, I jabbered about everything under the sun, not noticing that my usually talkative boyfriend was giving me one word answers and nodding his head as I talked, while having a death grip on the steering wheel,” Kelly explained.

“When we got to the beach, he told me we were going to ride bikes to the beach and have a beach picnic. Now, at this time, I still had no idea what was about to happen. We frequently had beach picnics and I just thought it was sweet for him to think of it.So we rode our bikes to the beach and we walked down close to the water. He laid a blanket down and I sat on it. He then told me he needed to go put his keys in the bike basket and then he heavy sighed. That was what tipped me off. I don’t know why, and I don’t know how, but that sigh was different. When he came back, he grabbed both my hands and pulled me up and he knelt. I honestly thought he was playing a joke on me! I was filled with the extreme of every emotion possible and I couldn’t stand it! Finally, he finished saying all of the amazing things he was saying and pulled out a beautiful ring that he picked out just for me! We laughed, I cried, I had a fiancé! I was so full of love and joy and the happiest happy I have ever felt!” the bride gushed.

“When choosing a wedding florist I wanted to feel comfortable with them, because I wanted to feel like I could contact them and bounce ideas off of them and feel like we were getting the same vision,” Kelly explained. “Kathy at Northside Florist did a remarkable job. She was warm and personable and has many years of experience and really understood the look I was going for. The colors were beautiful, the flowers were gorgeous and they literally pulled everything together: from the mason jars with hydrangea lining the aisle to the bouquets, floral centerpieces and branch centerpieces. It was everything I could’ve hoped for and more!”

Throughout the wedding planning, the couple’s main focus was on the most important part, their love for each other.

“Our wedding was all about me and Lane. We weren’t trying to put on a show or impress people,” Kelly said. “We just stood before our families, friends and God, pledged our love to one another and made a lifelong commitment to each other.”

Looking back one of Kelly’s unforgettable moments occurred just moments into her wedding ceremony.

“Seeing Lane for the first time and being zeroed in on him during my walk down the aisle and looking over at Lane’s brothers standing behind him and realizing that they are mine now too were memorable,” the bride shared.

“We tied a cord of three strands and the pastor explained how one cord represents me, one represents Lane and the third represents God and then the Bible verse ‘…a cord of three strands is not easily broken‘ was read. We wanted everyone there to know that the basis of our relationship is God.” – The Bride

Abbey Saxton Photography blew me away. I feel like I’ve known Abbey forever. She makes you feel comfortable and is professional and I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else. – The Bride

“We are low-key, no frills, lovers of family, friends and a good time. My husband is a good Southern boy and I’m a crafty girly-girl. We tried to make our wedding a good mix of us,” Kelly explained. – The Bride

“Kathy at Northside Florist did a remarkable job. She was warm and personable and has many years of experience and really understood the look I was going for. The colors were beautiful, the flowers were gorgeous and they literally pulled everything together, from the mason jars with hydrangea lining the aisle to the bouquets, floral centerpieces and branch centerpieces. It was everything I could’ve hoped for and more!” – The Bride

What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay Brides?Visit multiple venders and pick the ones who make you feel comfortable and who get your vision. You can do it without a wedding planner.

Try not to get stressed and enjoy it, but know that sometimes you will be stressed. It’s totally ok, you will get through it, and at the end of it all you will still be married to your best friend.

Marry Me Tampa Bay editor, Anna Coats, created Marry Me Tampa Bay in 2012 to showcase the area's best local weddings and vendors. She has been featured as a wedding expert on the national talkshow Daytime, Fox13, ABC Action News, Great Day Tampa Bay, and Bay News 9 (now Spectrum).